The Best Plants To Purify Indoor Air

The Best Plants To Purify Indoor Air

Do you work in an office? Indoor air pollution can significantly compromise your health. Did you know that some indoor plants absorb harmful air pollutants, preventing you from inhaling them?

Many offices are designed into cubicles, which usually consist of partitions made of particle board. The office usually contains vinyl carpet, synthetic flooring, a desk made of particle board, and a synthetic office chair. You could spend many hours of the day in the office, with no fresh air and no windows to open. Recirculated toxins in the air can reach dangerous levels.

Formaldehyde is a chemical given off by synthetic office furnishings. It can irritate the mucous membranes of the nose, eyes and throat, and may cause allergic contact dermatitis or eczema. Red, irritated eyes and frequent sneezing are symptoms a lot of office workers suffer with. Long term exposure to formaldehyde may increase the risk of cancer. Of course, you may also have furniture that out-gases formaldehyde in your home, but the levels are usually not as concentrated because you can open a window or go outside periodically. Formaldehyde levels tend to accumulate more in offices.

Other harmful chemicals commonly present in offices include benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene. Chemicals from perfume and cleaning products further add to the toxic load. High levels of carbon dioxide exhaled by a roomful of people can give the air a stuffy feeling.

Some indoor plants are capable of purifying the air, reducing volatile organic compounds including formaldehyde.

NASA performed a study to determine which indoor plants are best at purifying the air. They found that some plants are effective at removing a broad range of chemicals from the air. These include Devil’s Ivy, Kentia Palm, Bamboo Palm, Peace Lily and Variegated Snake Plant. There are probably others as well that were not tested. If the plant can grow indoors and you like the look of it, it’s worth having. It is also a good idea to look for a plant with large leaves. The bigger the leaves, the more airborne toxins can get absorbed.

It is also important to remember that we can’t ever escape air pollution completely. Unfortunately we live in a highly polluted world, and this does affect everybody’s health. Any chemical you breath in will enter your bloodstream. It is your liver’s job to detoxify your bloodstream. Our liver has more chemicals to deal with now than ever. I have designed Livatone Plus specifically to make your liver a more efficient detoxifier. It contains ingredients that assist the phase 1 and phase 2 detoxification pathways; helping your body to excrete a higher amount of toxins. You can read more about liver detoxification here.